Engine



June ll, 1940.

A7 J. MEYER v ENGINE Filed oct. 22, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 III.

,Patented June 11,1940

UNITI-:D4 STATES PATENT OFFICE ENGINE Application October 22, 1938,Serial No. 236,512

13 Claims.

The present invention relates to internal com bustion engines andhas'particular'reference to radial engines of the kind in which a bank ofradially arranged cylinders is encircled by an l ent invention isconcerned, any specific relative lll'` rotational movement may beemployed and for convenience the term bi-rotary will be employed herein4to designate generically the various specific kinds of the type ofengineunder consideration and to which the invention relates.

It is characteristic of engines of the -bi-rotary type that 'the outerends of the cylinders are open 4to provide cylinder ports which comeinto. come,

munication successively with the valve ports, and further that thcylinder bank carries with it 25 sealing means moving in sliding contactwith the inner face of the annular valve member for sealing the cylinderports and also for sealing the valve ports during the times when theyare not in yregistry with the cylinder ports.

301 In engines of the bi-rotary type, in which ignition is effectedby-extraneous ignition Ameans such as high tension spark plugs, glowplugs, `or tlfe like', such means are advantageously Vmounted in thevalve member rather than in the engine cyl-i'v inders, since when theyare mounted in the valve member they are exposed to -the'heat andpressure f the combustion gases only for the com paratively very shorttime in the engine cycle lwhich it takes for the cylinder portsto passthem, 40 and not during the entircworking and exhaust periods of thecycle as Awouldbe thecase if they` were mounted in the cylinders.

When such ignition devices are mounted in the l valve member, theymust,however, be mounted 45 in recesses or pockets in `order not to projectfrom the inner face ofthe valve member, since such projection wouldinterfere Vwith. the relative rotary movement between the valve memberand the sealing parts in slidingvcontact therewith on 59* the otherhand. Each ofthe pockets or recesses' is passed successively by theseveral cylinder ports,

' and at the instant when they are passed, ignition-` A takes place. Theresulting combustion` illlslthe pocket ,with combustion'gases under highprese 5;," sure and before the piston of the cylinder in mayv be termedignition pockets is intermittently (cl. 12s- 44) which combustion hasbeen effected can move downwardly to a sufdcient degree to materiallyreduce the pressure -of the combustion gases in the cylinder and in theignition pocket which forms a part of the combustion space at the time 5of ignition, the cylinder port moves out of communication with thepocket, which issealed until the next cylinder port Vcomes intocommunication with it.

Consequently, the next cylinder to come into 10 communication with thepocket, which cylinder contains a compressed charge intended to be firedby the ignition device in the pocket, is brought into communication witha certain quantity of spent combustion gases in the pocket 15 which maystill be under considerably higher pressure than the compressionpressure within the cylinder, particularly if the seal between the valvemember and the sliding sealing means. is highly effective. l

'Ilhis charge of compressed spent combustion gas in the pocket has anadverse effect on the character of combustion obtainable in the suc-`ceeding cylinder. In the first place, the spent combustion gases envelopthe ignition device and in the very short interval when the pocket is incommunication with the engine cylinder, the turbulence created byl thecommunicationV between the two chambers maybe insufficient to permitfresh combustible gas from the cylinder to get a0 to the vicinity. ofthepoint of ignition. If this occurs, the cylinder will fail to fire. Evenif fresh combustion gases d o get to the ignition device so thatignition occurs, the charge of fresh gas in the cylinder' is dilutedwith the spent combustion gases from the pocket, which as previouslynoted may he at substantially higher pre/ssure than that 10i thecylinder gases at the instant the cylinder comes into communication withthe pocket. Consequently, the extent of dilution of the cylinder 'gasesby spent gases from the pocket may be materially greater than wouldbeindicated bythe relation of the volume of the compression space l in.the cylinder atl the instant of ignition to the volume of the pocket.

It is the general object of the present inveni,tion to eliminate thedifficulties of the above d described n'ature encountererd in theoperation of engines of the kind under v`consideration as heretoforeconstructed. s' w In accordance with the invention, this genera objectis accomplished by the provision of means. whereby each of the pocketsin which the ignition devicesare located and which for convenience i5carrying a plurality of radially arranged cylinr' vented to a'zo'ne oflow pressure between the times when it is in communicationwith the portsof successive cylinders. 'I'he `manner in which such venting is effectedin ord r to.attain the abovestated general'object and o her and moredetailed objects of the invention will best be understood from aconsideration of the ensuing portion of this specification taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating the applicationof the principles' of the invention to engine structures.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a portion of abi-rotary engine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, or theengine shown in Fig. land lookingvfrom theright of Fig. v1;

'Figl 3 is a plan'view of a part o f thc'structure.

shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line I-I ofFlg. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectiontaken on the lines l-i of '.Figs. 3 andv 4 and shows parts of`additlonalcooperating elements: Figo isasection taken4 on the line H of Fig. 'I isa view similar to Fig. 4 showing a different embodiment: and- 1 Figs. 8,9, and 10 are all views similar to Fig. 5 showing diiferent'embodiments.

Referring now to the drawings. the engine `il. lustrated is of the kindin which the housing structure including -the valve member .isstationaryandthe cylinder banir and crankshaft revolve in opposite directions andat different speeds. 'I'he housing structure, which in this case is themounting structure, comprises a forward member I. and a rear member I!between which .v the annular valve member I4 is fixed. The valve memberNisprovided with a series of suitably spaced apart exhaust passages Itandinlet paslsages Il which at their inner ends terminate in ports inthe inner sealing surface of the valve member. This surfaceis preferablyspherically 'curved'. InV the embodiment illustrated the cylinder bankcomprises a crank case structure 2! ders 24, each having alpistcn Il.

The crankshaft-provides a crank pin 3l to which the several pistonsareconnected in any suitable manner.- In the embodiment illustrated thisis accomplished through the medium ofLa master -connecting rod I2Aconnected to one of the plstonsand a series of link' rods il whichserveto connect the remaining pistomswith the master rod adjacent to thecrank pin.

'me-desired rei uve speeds of rotation or th cylinder bank and thecrankshaft andthe timing of these two componentskwith respect to -theported valve member is obtained `by gearing which'in theillustratedjembodiment comprises v a'-crankshaft gear It meshingwith. agear ll fixed on shaft Il 'which constitutes the power take-off shaft ofthe engine. Shaft Il is mounted in the Vstationary moimting member Iland-has fixed; thereto a second gear!! meshing-.with an idler gear` Ilmounted in the stationary' structure andbehind the plane 'of Fig. l oi"t h`e drawings. -The idle;` Il meshes with/bear fixed.

Vto the rotatably mounted crank case structure.

.As will be evident 'from m. Luie erankshaftsnd Athe cylinder bank willbe to rotate in opposite directions bythe gears just describedv andvtheir' Speedsnf rotation will he A(lett-:thrilled by 'thegearfratios ofthe two trains ofgeais. Insoiar vas thepresentinvexf'ition-isconcerned.- any l aaoaooe suitable gearingarrangement between the com ponent parts may be employed.-v

Each oi' the cylinders 2l is open at its outer end and the open ends ofthe cylinders are sealed by parts of the sealing means carried by`thecylinder bank. These parts advantageously consist of annular sealingelements 48 in the form of cylindrical cuir-like members havingspherically curved outer surfaces in sliding contact with the innersurface of the valve member, and barrel portions telescopically engagingthe walls of the open outer ends of the cylinders.

From Fig:7 2 it will be evident that relative rotary movement betweenthe cylinder bank and the valve member will bring the cylinder portsinto and out of communication with the :inlet and exhaust ports in thevalve member. In order to seal the latter ports when they are notincommunication` with any cylinder port, a further portion of thesealing means carried by the curved inner surface of the valve member,with which it is in sliding contact. The sealing memberis provided with-a series of properly spaced apertures B2 which permit the sealingelements to extend through the sealing member into sliding contact withthe valvemember. The valve member is provided with a series of ignitionpockets M communicating with the inner side of' the valve member. whichpockets are located at suitably spaced intervals peripherally. of thevalve member so as to come into communication with the cylinder ports atthe proper time for ignition in the particular engine cycle employed.YIn the embodiment' illustrated. the en-l gine is of the four strokecycle type. having seven cylinders per bank With this engine and withthe. cylinder bank vand crankshaft rotating in opposite directions,eachcylinder hres four times per revolution vof the cylinder bank and atleast four ignition pockets are required. In the embodiment illustrated,these pockets are formed by the inner portions of suitably threaded.bores extending through 'the valve member and into which spark plugs 5lare threaded. If the inner ends of `the plugs are set substantially ushwith the innerqw surface of the valve member, gas accumulating pocketswill still be formed by the internal cavities of'theinner ends of theplugs.

other kinds of ignitionmeans resulting in the formation of other 'formsof ignition pockets may be utilized. Y 1

The sealing means is provided at spaced intervals with vent passagesextending therethrough. these vent passages advantageously being locatedin the annular s ealingmember lil' and there being advantageously.atleast `one such passage between each two adjacent cylinders of thebank. These passages areprovided with located toibe vbrought intoand outof 4c'ouimimication with the ignition Vpockets by. therelative rotarymovement between the *cylinder*Y and. the valve member,v and the outlet'ends.` of these passages are located so Vthat they will'serve tc event'the ignition pockets to a zone of l0 `w In the 'embodiment in rigs. s;tais; im vent passages, oneof which is shownin these figures, are formedwith inlet Il at thebutei 'surface of the sealing" ring, locatedtoregistei with, the ignition pockets, which inletsepm,

municate with sa transverse passage extending 'f through thescaling'member` to. provide outlet:

i! and I4 at the sides of the' ring. These outlets advantageouslycommunicate intermittently with the annular channels 86 and 8l formedrespectively in the housing members l and i2. 'Ihese channels serve asdrainage channels for excess lubricant discharged from betweenthesIiding contact surfaces of. the valve member and the sealing ring.These channels are not under material pressure and by venting theignition pockets to these channels, any lubricant entering the inlets ofthe vent passages from the lubricated sliding surface will be carriedback into the lubrication system. 4

As previously noted, the vent passages communicate only intermittentlywith these drain passages and in mostinstances the vent passages areadvantageously opened only intermittently Preferably they are to any lowpressure zone. opened onlyl when their inlet ends are in communicationwith the ignition pockets. It will be apparent that if the ignitionpockets and the valve ports are to communicate with the cylin-` derports upon relative rotary movement between the engine parts. theignition pockets must lie in the same plane normal to the axis ofrelative rotation as'the valve ports. From this-it'follows that if theinlet ends of the vent passages are to communicate with the ignitionpockets they must 1 necessarily, in other" positions of rotation of theparts. communicate with the valve ports. Coni sequently, if the ventpassages were permitted t0 remain open at all `times,communicationbetween the valve ports and a low pressure zone would occur when thevent passages passed the valve ports.

Intermittent communication between the valve ports and a low pressurezone, through the vent passages, would be undesirable in many cases.

particularly in the Ycase of supercharged engines,4

tageously employed to close the vent passages.v particularly at timeswhen the inlets thereof are in communication ywith the valve ports. Suchvalve means is advantageously arranged in the form of what may be termeda slide valve formed between the relatively rotating `sealing member`and the housing structure at the side of the sealing member.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. the

parts Il) and i2 in which the channels E6 and 6% are formed. provideradially extending flanges and 'l2 respectively which are in slidingcontact with the side faces of the sealing ring 50. These flanges areadvantageously continuous but may be circumferentially interrupted. Inthe embodi` ment illustrated they are continuous and are provided withports peripherally spaced at suitable intervals and -located to bepassed by the outlets of the vent passages when the inlets of thepassages are in communication `vviththe ignition pockets.4 One of suchlports is indicated at it in Fig. 6. Obviously, many other specificforms of `notched or otherwise interrupted slide valve structures may beemployed for accomplishing othe desired object of closing the ventpassages indesired positions of rotation thereof while persisting of aplurality of segmental shoes -16 (see Fig.7) having openings 52 thereinfor the reception of the cylinder sealing elements and iny termediateconnecting or bridge shoes 18. In so far as the present invention isconcerned, it is immaterial whether or not the sealing'member is ofone-piece or built-up construction and it will be evident from Fig. 'lthat the shoes 16 may be provided with vent passages 58a which willfunction in the same manner'as that previously described.

From the standpoint of manufacturing convenience and expense, it will beevident that vent passages extending radially straight through thesealing means are more advagitageous than' the laterally extendingpassages of the form shown in Fig. 5, and for aspirated engines, suchpassages may in some instances be used.` An arrangement of this sort isshown in Fig. 8 in which the sealing member 50 is provided with aplurality of passages 53c' extending radially directly through themember?) These passages operate to vent the ignition' pockets directlyto atmosphere and ifleft open will provide communication between-theinlet and exhaust ports and atmosphere as they pass the valve ports'. Inthe case of an `aspirated engine, communication of the passages 58o withthe i-nlet ports would cause fresh air to be ad mitted to the manifoldwhich in some instances might cause undesirable disturbance to the fuelair ratio of the fresh' gas mixture. m'l'his may be avoided in verysimple manner by the provision Aof a light spring valve 80 of thefeather type,

yiixed to the sealing member by any suitable means such as the screw 82and normally closing the outlet of the vent passage 58e. It will beevident that. a light feather valve of this type will prevent liow ofair through thevent passage to an inlet port,'while at the same time thepressure required to cause the valve to open will be practicallynegligible so that when the vent passage passes an ignition pocket itwill operate to vent the latterof the gases under pressure trappedtherein. It will be apparent that for this type oi vent passage anysuitable form of check valve opening away from the ignition pockets maybe employed.

Still another arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 9 wherein the vent4passages 58h are in the form of laterally extending grooves, in theouter face ofthe sealing member. These'grooves -may extend either to oneor both sides of the-sealing member and in the embodiment showndischarge through these passages is controlled by a slide valve'of thekind illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. A

In all of the embodiments previouslydescribed the inlets of the ventpassages have been arf ranged in the same planeas that of the ignitionpockets and valve ports; An alternative arrangement is illustrated inFig. 10. In this form of construction the ignition pocket includes alaterally extending passage Md having `a branch providing an opening 54hin the surface of the valve member which is located laterally to oneside of the lateralextremities of the ports in the valve member, theseextremities being indicated by the dotted port lines IS. The sealingmember is provided with ventpassages 58d which may as in the embodimentillustrated open laterally of the sealing member, or pass directlytherethrough.

In this form, it will be evident that the vent passages 58d` will neverregister with the valve ports and consequently these passages-do notrefquire to be closed against communication with .these ports: Thisarrangement has, however, the

disadvantage that, due to the fact that the ignition pockets aremomentarily-subjected to theworking pressures in the cylinders whenthese pockets communicate with the cylinderports at the moment ofignition, the sealing against loss of the gas under the working pressurein the cyl-l inders must depend on the seal between the face of thevalve member I4 and the sealing member 50.. This latter member isintended primarily -merely for the purpose of sealing the ports and `isconsequently not necessarily constructed to hereinbeiore vdescribed byway ofexample but is' to be considered as including all forms ofconstruction falling within the scope of the ali-- pended claims.

What is claimed is: l 1. In a bi-'rotar'y engine, an annular portedvalve member, sealing means mounted for relative rotary movement with.respect to saidfvalve lmember, ignition pockets opening inwardly of thevalve member, and venting means carried by said s ealing meansfor'placing said pockets temporarilyin communication with a zone of lowpressure due to said relative rotary movement.

2. I n a bi-rotary.. engine, an annular ported valve member, an annularsealing member mounted for. relative rotary movement with re-v spect tosaid valve member, ignition pockets opening inwardly ofn the valvemember, a plurality of vent passages formed in said sealing 3. In abil-rotary engine, an annular ported valve member, sealing means mountedfor relative rotary movement with respect to said valve member forintermittently. closing vsaid ports,

ignition pocketsopening inwardly of the valve member, a plurality ofvent passages formed in said sealing means, each of said passages havingan inletlocated to pass said ignition pockets due to said relativerotary movement and an outlet, and means rotationally fixed with respectto said valve member for closing the outlets of said passages inpredetermined relative positionsof said sealing means and said valvemember other than the relative positions thereof in which said inletscommunicate with said ignition pockets.

d 4; In a bi-rotary engine, housingy structure including an annularported valve member, a cylinder bank mounted for relativevrotarymovement with respect to said valve member, sealing means carriedby saidcylinder bank in sliding' ber, each of 'said passages havingl aninletflocated to pass said .pockets due tol said relative rotarymovement and an outlet spaced laterally of the inlet, said housingstructure-including portions covering said outlets in predeterminedrelative position of the cylinder bank and the valve member other thanthe relative positions thereof in which said inlets communicate withsaid ignition pockets.

5. In a bi-rotary engine, an annular .ported valve member, .a cylinderbank mounted for `rela-' tive rotary movement with respect to said valvemember, sealing means` carried by said cylinder bank in sliding contactwith. said valve member, a plurality of ignition'pockets in said valvemember, a plurality of vent l passages constituting laterally extendinggrooves formed in the outer surface of said sealing means, each of saidpassages having an inlet located to pass said pockets due to saidrelative rotary movementand an outlet, and means for opening and closingthe outlets of said passages in'differentpredetermined relative;Vpositions of vrotation of the sealing means and thefvalve member..

6. In a bi-rotary engine, housing structure including an annular portedvalve member, an annular sealing member mounted for@ relative rotarymovement with respect to said valve member, a plurality ofignitionpockets in said valve member, a plurality of vent passages`formed in said sealing member, each of said passages having an inletlocated to pass said pockets due to said. relative rotary movement, andan outlet located at the side of the sealing member, said housingstructure including portions located to coverI said outlets invpredetermined relative positions of thesealing member and the valvemember other than the relative positionsrthe'reof in which said inletscommunicate with said ignition pockets.

'7. In a bi-rotary engine, an annular ported valve member, an annularsealing member y mounted for relative rotary movement with respect tosaid valve member, a plurality of ignition pockets in said valve member,a plurality of vent passages constituting laterally extending .groovesformed inthe outer surface of said sealin g member, each of saidpassages having an inlet located to pass said pockets du'e to saidrelative rotary movement and an outlet, and

means for closing the outlets of said passages in predetermined relativepositions of the sealing member and the valve memberl other than therelative positions thereof in which said inlets communicate with saidignition pockets.

' 8. In la bi-rotary engine, housing structure including an annularported valve member, an

due to said relative rotary movement and an outlet located at the sideof the sealing member, said housing structure lproviding an annularchannel adjacent to the side of said sealingl member, and means locatedbetween saidchannel and the adjacent side of the sealing member,

said meansbeing located to close the outlets of saidvpassages'inpredetermined positions of rotation of .thesealing member with respectto the .f

.valve member and to permit communicationl aaoaoea i 5 said sealingmeans, said passages having inlets located to pass said ignition pocketsand said ports due to said relative rotary movement, and automatic valvemeans operable to close said passages when said inlets are incommunication with said valve ports and to open the passages when saidinlets are in communicationwith said ignition pockets.

10. In a bi-rotary engine, a valve member havl ing a plurality ofperipherally spaced inlet ports and a plurality of peripherally `spacedignition pockets therein, sealing means mounted for relative rotaryVmovement with respect to said valve member, a plurality of Ventpassages formed in said sealing means, said passages having inletslocated to pass said ignition pockets and said ports due to saidrelative rotary movement, and means cooperating in sliding relation withsaid sealing means to close the outlets of said passages when the inletsthereof pass said inlet ports and to open the outlets of said lpassageswhen the inlets thereof pass said ignition pockets. 11. In a bi-rotaryengine, an -annular ported valve member having a plurality of ignitionpockets therein, sealing means arranged for relative .rotary movement'with respect to the valve member, a plurality of vent passages formedin said sealing means. said passages having inlets located to pass saidignition pockets due to said relative rotary movement, and anautomatically operable check valve for controlling each of said ventpassages, said check valves being arranged to open away from the inletsof the passages.

lsaid cylinder bank including a plurality of cylinpassagesformed in saidvalve member each comlextremities of said valve ports, and a pluralitytary movement and to thereby vent said ignition 12. In a bi-rotaryengine, an annular ported valve member having a plurality of ignitionpockets therein, an annular sealing member arranged for relative rotarymovement with respect to the va1v e member, a plurality of vent passagesextending in generally radial direction through said sealing member andhaving inlets located to pass said ignition pockets due to said relativerotary movement, and a spring valve located to cover the outlet of eachof said passages, said spring valves being arranged to be opened byfluid under pressure admitted to said passages from said ignitionpockets.

13.l In a bi-rotary engine, an annular ported valve member having aninner sealing surface and a plurality of valve ports and a plurality ofignition pockets opening through said surface,

said ports and pockets lying in a common plane, a1 cylinder bank.mounted for relative rotary movement with respect to said valve member,

ders having ports at theirouter ends lying in said plane, and anannular-sealing member hav ing an outer sealing surface cooperating inslidingl relation with the sealing surface of the valve member to closesaid valve ports between times of communication thereof with thecylinder ports.

municating with an ignition pocket and having an outlet located in thesealing surface of the valve member laterally to one side of the lateralof vent passages formed in said sealing member having inlets located inthe sealing surface of the sealing member to pass the outlets of thefirst `mentioned passages d ue to said relative ro pockets.

' ANDR J. MEYER.

